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    Moderator: D-Mod
    Jul 15, 2019
      ·  Edited: Sep 23, 2019

    The Walter Becker Auction

    in Everything Else

    Property from the Estate of Walter Becker

    October 18 and 19, 2019 | Beverly Hills, CA

    With Julien’s Auctions



    All auction items are now online and open for pre-auction bidding at:  https://www.julienslive.com/m/view-auctions/catalog/id/312


    The printed catalog is also online in flip-book format at: https://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2019/Walter_Becker/Walter_Becker_Flipping_Book/

    Julien's Summary Post with links to all relevant pages at: https://juliensauctions.com/auctions/2019/Walter_Becker/Walter_Becker_Subscriber.html




    Known for his sublime and immediately identifiable guitar tone, his intimate knowledge of the tools of studio and stage, and his unique, impeccable ear, Becker is heralded as one of the most potent forces in popular music of the last 50 years.


    “Julien’s Auctions is thrilled to offer this exceptional collection of musical instruments and gear owned and cherished by Walter Becker, the co-founder and creative genius of one of the most acclaimed and visionary bands of all time, Steely Dan, and a solo artist of uncommon uniqueness and creativity,” said Darren Julien, CEO/President of Julien’s Auctions.


    "Walter Becker was legendary for his unique tone, his curiosity, his knowledge, his high audiophile standards, and the pleasure he took in experimenting to create just the right sonic landscape that would best support his creative and musical intentions. This fine and wide-ranging collection reflects all of these characteristics — and more — that helped make Walter Becker one of the most talented and respected all-around musicians and sonic connoisseurs of his generation."

     

    If this event interests you, your first visit should be to Julien’s Auctions, my carefully-considered choice to handle Walter’s much beloved babies and to usher them into what we all earnestly hope are new loving and musical homes. Do your old D-Mod a solid — would you? — and send up a little wish for just that outcome?


    That’s what Walter wanted, of course. And I like to think his legacy deserves no less.


    The Julien’s Auctions folks have been truly spectacular, and I’ve been blown away by their knowledge, the care they are taking with this inventory, and what appears to me to be a truly above-and-beyond effort to do this one up right! They value Walter Becker, his work, his legacy, and his stuff! Wonderful!


    Their site dedicated to The Becker Auction will be updating with details and news --- such as today's Rolling Stone piece on the auction -- and all you need to know to view the live auction online or even bid remotely, if you're so moved.


    I strongly urge you to sign up for their newsletters and alerts! No way will we keep up with all the happenings and must-knows; So, please sign up with them if you are interested in following along.


    No doubt I will have more to say as time goes on about what is for me, at least, a rather momentous event, although I’ll be leaving all the informative details to Julien’s, who will do a fine job of informing prospective bidders and observers.


    But now, to no one’s surprise, I’d like to indulge in an initial observation about this collection, things you may not hear much about elsewhere, even though they speak eloquently, I believe, about the man and the cherished possessions I witnessed him acquire and use (and use! and use!!) for the last few decades.


    And it is this:


    I believe the collection reveals a somewhat unique aspect of Walter and his place — and reputation — in the music-making community both as a connoisseur and as a so-called “collector”; namely, his championing of up-and-coming luthiers and other sound professionals. To be sure, we find in his collection the Fenders, the Gibsons, the Guilds and the Marshalls; but we also find the Hahns, the Ian Andersons, the Grimes’, the Monty’s, the Satellites, the Dr. Zs (I’ve left out plenty of others’ names). And of course, when SD Mach 2 all began, there was that scrappy genius Roger Sadowsky already in fast mid-flight, building his his now-mighty empire.


    Finding, supporting, and mentoring talented and aspiring professionals was important to Walter, and resulted in discovering and giving feedback on — and sometimes even helping to shape — personalized “boutique” instruments and gear, and then applying his innovative mind to benefit from their use. Watch amplifier developer Dr. Z here for an insightful and informed discussion of Walter’s use of creative and unique amps and amplification schemes, and how he would “play the amp as an instrument.”


    His enthusiasm and creativity in wringing the best out of every noise-making contraption

    he came across — well, let me tell you, it was a sight to behold.


    There will be others along, I hope, who will speak more knowledgeably about Walter’s perhaps surprising (and not widely known) reputation within the guitar and gear community. But as far as I'm concerned, these pieces hold a special place in Walter’s collection, reflecting as they do his deep engagement with the gutsy and talented souls who help put more and better music into the world, and whom he so appreciated and valued.


    Over and Out for now....,

    D


    138 comments
    jjmckay
    Jul 15, 2019  ·  Edited: Jul 15, 2019

    “Not widely known in the community?”


    Everybody knows Walter Becker is a GEARSLUT!


    https://youtu.be/6t5s1vurAGs

    0
    halC
    Jul 15, 2019  ·  Edited: Jul 15, 2019

    Wow !! This all sounds very much in order and very exciting. I was just about to ask about Walter's guitars and gear, given the recent discussions regarding his books and cd's, I now have the answer.

    Yes all Walter's things need to go to good homes and I'm sure they will.

    I once bid on ebay for a Walter Becker 'forward the bass' pick, won the auction and then the seller backed out of the sale, highly annoying.

    Wonder if they'll be any picks on auction ? ;-)

    Looking forward to seeing all the guitars and equipment online

    0
    Danny Bigelow
    Jul 15, 2019

    Most auction books are 25-50 dollars, why is this one $100? Is it just guitars and gear being sold or also other memorabilia/setlists/lyric sheets? It would be cool to know if there were mods made to his amps and guitars, and curious to know what's "staying in the family" that they didn't want to part with.

    0
    Matthew Kerns
    Jul 16, 2019

    @Danny Bigelow I'm not a frequenter of this kind of auction. But I haven spent a lot of time looking at auctions of western and historic memorabilia, and have come across many different auction books. My understanding is that Julien's prints a hardcover, full-color, glossy, thick paper format book that is essentially a collectable in its own right. $100 is a lot of money, but because of the sheer scope of the collection, it's almost like a history of Walter Becker's love affair with the guitar. Like the best kind of coffee table book you could ever get, I guess. I looked through Julien's previous auctions, and the other books are within the same range. So I guess when compared to $100 for pictures of Burt Reynold's jewelry, this one isn't too shabby.

    TBD
    Jul 15, 2019

    Is it safe to say an "Ian Anderson" is a Flute?

    0
    Moderator: D-Mod
    Jul 15, 2019

    Nope --- a favorite guitar. Red burst..he played it a lot, including at Coachella (its in a lot of those photos). Used "Ian Anderson" because there is another luthier named "Anderson"

    Matthew Kerns
    Jul 16, 2019

    @TBD My first thought went there as well. I was trying to figure out the Jethro Tull/Steely Dan connection. Took a little research to discover he is a San Diego luthier whose instruments are pretty coveted.

    TBD
    Jul 16, 2019

    I knew it couldn't be that easy, my 2nd mind was a nice Ian acoustic guitar.


    Just so interesting..

    Load more replies
    Matthew Kerns
    Jul 16, 2019

    https://www.guitarworld.com/news/guitars-and-gear-belonging-to-steely-dans-walter-becker-to-be-sold-at-auction Coverage in Guitar World. A couple of guitars pictured:



    A 1957 Fender Duo-Sonic electric guitar which can be seen with Becker in a photograph used in the liner notes to the 1977 Steely Dan album Aja (estimate: $4,000-$6,000)

    In addition to being the guitar Walter was holding in the Aja liner notes, this is supposedly the guitar that he used to record the Black Friday solo on Katy Lied.


    and:



    An early example of an Excel model archtop guitar, hand built by luthier John D'Angelico, with a spruce top and maple body with a sunburst finish, fitted with a Grover DeLuxe tailpiece, ebony bridge and fretboard (estimate: $10,000-$15,000)

    A commenter on Facebook said about the above guitar, "An early D’Angelico Excel for 10 - 15 K owned by WB??!! I’d buy it today for that. It will go between 30 - 40 K." I just know that both of those are beautiful instruments.

    halC
    Jul 17, 2019

    Will all the items in the auction be eventually viewable online before the auction starts ?

    Moderator: D-Mod
    Jul 17, 2019

    I could speculate on that, but it's really a question for Julien's

    0
    mberliner68
    Jul 23, 2019

    Julien’s typically posts the catalogue online a few weeks before the auction.

    mberliner68
    Jul 22, 2019

    Aside from the guitars and gear, I’m hoping you will also consider including some of Walter’s CD’s and books. As a film & TV memorabilia collector, I can telol you that Darren Julien and his team do a first-rate job cataloging and promoting their sales. You would think mundane everyday items would not be of interest to true fans, but the opposite is true. Even clothing and ID cards have value. In any event, if a WB archive is not a realistic possibility, at least his fans can buy a piece of his legacy. I, for one cannot wait to bid and hopefully win a guitar. Which guitar do you think may have meant the most to him? Did he have a favorite? Also, did Walter collect watches? Will any of his watches be offered for sale? Thank you so much for putting up this site. I love it!

    Moderator: D-Mod
    Jul 23, 2019

    Hi - One of the things we're proud of (those of us who did 18 months on inventory of his gear -- guitars, basses, amps, recording stuff etc) -- is that we wanted to contextualize and document or, more correctly, get "use-data" on just as many items as we could. Julien's seems completely in accord with this and is going to contribute with their own research. Therefore, we're hoping that catalog is going to be a true historical document, if you will, of this great collection. That's an indirect way of answering "did he have a favorite"-type questions; hopefully, with all the info that will come along with so many items -- how frequently did Walter use this guitar on tour, what guitar did he use to record x y or x, what were some of his favorite stage amp set-ups, etc., it will also paint a picture of his choices and preferences across time and also at particular moments in time. Of course that's the catalog I want to see -- something of real worth in documenting Walter's choices. Thanks for visiting :)

    mberliner68
    Jul 23, 2019

    @Moderator: D-Mod Thank you so much for posting this! I had the pleasure of meeting Walter twice over the years — once in 1994 in Santa Ana when my ex-wife and I ran into him outside the arena before showtime and he borrowed a cigarette from my ex, who smoked. He could not have been nicer! More recently, I ran into him in Santa Monica when he was walking back to his hotel The Huntley with his daughter Sayan. Again, could not have been more gracious. Wonderful guy. I‘m not big on asking celebs to take pictures, but I really wish I had taken a picture with Walter. In any event, I am beyond excited for this auction and can’t wait to hoist my paddle in the air! If you are at the cocktail party, I look forward to meeting you in person. Best of luck with this auction! It will be a memorable event!

    Matthew Kerns
    Jul 23, 2019

    https://www.musicradar.com/news/reelin-in-the-gear-walter-beckers-guitars-and-amps-go-up-for-sale?fbclid=IwAR1D8NMGOEs-l5ULB4lLqODlTRXALQ-ei4mmV2cQNVPHDMMHpg7u-l8o4Ks This article has a lot of pictures and some more info about a few of the guitars. @Moderator: D-Mod, you were right about the white pickguard on that specific Ian Anderson.

    mberliner68
    Jul 23, 2019

    Great article! Thanks Matthew! I’ll be sure to check this out. I’m already plotting how I can buy that guitar featured in the AJA liner notes!

    Matthew Kerns
    Jul 23, 2019